Alresford Town 1 Lymington Town 3: ALRESFORD looked good going forward, but their customary vulnerability at the back cost them any chance of making up lost ground in the Sydenhams Premier basement.

Manager Martin Beck gave a debut to midfielder Dan Thorogood while another new man, Greg Cooper, later joined the fray from the bench. Thorogood impressed with his nimble footwork and work-rate but at the back, the Alresford defence couldn’t match their opponents’ pace. They created as many chances as Lymington, but the visitors’ chances were better than their hosts’ and, not surprisingly, they took the honours in the end.

Aaron Blaxall had the first shot for Alresford, firing a dipping volley over the Lymington bar with just a minute on the clock. Craig Bryant then saw his bouncing header tipped over by Stuart Williamson.

It took Lymington five minutes to mount a decent attack, but when they did they scored from it. Ben Sullivan’s low cross from the left was met by Brad Strickland at the near post, and he deflected the ball diagonally past John Howard in the home goal.

Despite the loss of Jake Bockhart to injury Lymington then had a spell on top, Ryan Fuller firing wastefully wide when in plenty of space. But the Magpies equalised on 21 minutes, Brian Howard scoring from the edge of the box from a loose ball after Rian Jima-Otero’s snaking run had set him up.

For a while it appeared to be anyone’s game, with both sides playing fast, attacking football. But on 42 minutes Strickland doubled his tally, finishing off Tom Man’s cross after Darren Ritchie had won the ball in midfield.

The start of the second half saw some fiercely competitive, but clean football with few chances. Ritchie missed a good opportunity to put Lymington further ahead before Alresford enjoyed a spell of pressure that ended when Brian Howard set up Thorogood for a shot that flew over the bar.

On 68 minutes Lymington made the game safe with a third goal. A right-wing corner was fired low across the box and, with none of the home defenders in a position to clear, Ritchie was able to side-foot across J Howard and into the bottom corner.

Alresford battled away, but the game was up; their best chance came from a B Howard free kick, which Jima-Otero met with a firm far-post header that flew straight into Williamson’s grateful clutches.

With tough matches against Sholing and Salisbury next up, the Magpies are staring down the barrel.